The commander sailed first for Teneriffe, and thence for the south of America, intending to enter the Pacific by the passage of Cape Horn. But the storms of that inhospitable region beat him back; and he was forced to bear away for the Cape of Good Hope, and reach the Society Islands on the side of New Holland. This voyage, which had occupied ten months, terminated on the 25th of October, by the arrival of the Bounty at Otaheite. No time was lost in putting the instructions into execution. The young shoots that sprung from the lateral roots of the bread-fruit trees were taken up, with balls of earth, where the soil was moist; and this operation was continued till they were in possession of one thousand and fifteen live plants, secured in seven hundred and seventy-four pots, thirty-nine tubs, and twentyfour boxes. To complete this cargo took them till the 3d of April, 1759; and Bligh sailed on the 4th, passing from Otaheite through the group of islands, and bidding adieu to the natives with whom he and his crew had been on the most friendly terms during their stay. Hitherto there had been no perils to contend with but those of the sea; but when four and twenty days had elapsed, and they were, of course, far from any land, a new scene took place, which frustrated for a time the bounty of the government and the skill of the commander. Under the cloak of fidelity, a mutiny had been forming of a very determined and extensive nature; and so well had the mutineers disguised their intentions, that not one but those who were in the plot had the slightest suspicion of it. The known bravery of Lieutenant Bligh made the mutineers afraid to attack him awake; and so, on the morning of the 25th of April, he was seized while asleep in his bed, by a band of armed traitors, and hurried upon deck in his shirt; and, on coming there he found the master, the gunner, one of the master's mates, and Nelson the botanist, who had been with him under Cook, confined in the fore hatchway, and guarded by sentinels. The launch was hoisted; and such individuals as the mutineers did not like, were ordered to quit the ship, and forced if they refused or hesitated. Eighteen individuals out of the forty-six remained true to the commander; and one of them, Mr. Samuel, the clerk, contrived to save Mr. Bligh's commission and journals; but he failed in attempting to procure Bligh's surveys, drawings, and remarks during fifteen years, which were exceedingly valuable, and the time-keeper. Four of the men, who kept their allegiance, were detained by the mutineers contrary to their wishes. The cause of this singular mutiny, for which none of the usual motives could very well account, could not with certainty be known; but it was generally sup posed that the instigator was Mr. Christian, one of the master's mates. Bligh himself says, in his most interesting account of this voyage and mutiny, "It will naturally be asked what could be the cause of this revolt? In answer, I can only conjecture that the mutineers had flattered themselves with the hope of a happier life among the Otaheitans than they could possibly enjoy in England." Thus, after they had made certain of the successful termination of an enterprise which was looked upon with a great deal of interest, both in a scientific and an economical point of view, Bligh was disappointedand he and his faithful, associates were sent adrift upon the wide ocean, in an open boat, with only an hundred and fifty pounds of bread, a few pieces of pork, a little wine and rum, a quadrant and compass, and a few other implements of navigation. But they were undaunted, and they were skilful; and though they had hard weather to contend with, they reached Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands. But as the people there were as treacherous, though not quite so successful in their treachery, as their former shipmates, they again put to sea, and stood for New Holland, which they reached in safety; rested for a little, and got a supply of provisions. From New Holland they again sailed in the direction of the Eastern Archipelago; and, after suffering the greatest fatigue, being exposed to the full action and vicissitudes of the elements, and forced for some time to bear famine, they reached the Dutch settlement of Coupang, in the island of Timor, without the loss of one individual by disease; though they hac traversed at least five thousand miles of sea. Nay, so ardent was Bligh as a seaman, that, amid all those perils, he was occupied in making some very valuable observations. The Dutch governor of Coupang showed them every attention; and, from the care that was taken of them, twelve were enabled to return to England. Though the adventure had failed, every body was disposed to bestow all praise on the adventurer; and he was promoted to the rank of captain, and appointed to the command of his Majesty's ship Providence, in order to repeat the voyage, The Providence, with the Assistant, a small ship in company, sailed on the 3d of August, 1791. His instructions were to procure the bread-fruit trees for the West Indies, and, on his return, to examine the passage between the north of New Holland and New Guinea-which, in his former voyage in the Bounty, he had been the first to navigate. On the 9th of April, 1792, they reached Otaheite ; and by the 17th of July, they were ready to leave the island, having on board twelve hundred and eighty-one tubs and pots of plants, all in the finest condition, There was no mutiny on this voyage; but the pas sage between New Holland and New Guinea was dangerous; and it was the 2d of October before the captain reached his old friends at Coupang. He remained there for a week, replacing with plants from that island those that had died on the voyage; and then he came to the Atlantic by the Cape of Good Hope, which he contrived to pass so closely as never to have a lower temperature than sixty-one degrees of Fahrenheit. On the 17th of September, he anchored at St. Helena, collected there a number of trees, and among others the akee; and, leaving twenty-three bread fruits, and some other valuable plants, he sailed, and reached St. Vincert on the 23d of January, 1793-where he left, with Dr. Anderson, the superintendent of the Botanical Garden, three hundred and thirty three bread fruit trees, and two hundred and eleven fruit trees of other kinds, receiving at the same time nearly five hundred tropical plants for the Botanical Garden at Kew. From St. Vincent, Captain Bligh sailed for Jamaica, where he left three hundred and forty-seven bread-fruits, and two hundred and seventy-six others, which were a selection of all the finest fruits of the east. Some of the plants were also left on the island, of Grand Cayman; and the ships finally came to the Downs on the 2d of August, 1793. But, after all the peril, hardship, and expense thus incurred the bread-fruit tree has not, hitherto at least, answered the expectations that were entertained. The banana is more easily and cheaply cultivated, comes into bearing much sooner after being planted, bears more abundantly, and is better relished by the negroes. The mode of propagating the bread-fruit is not, indeed; difficult; for the planter has only to lay bare one of the roots, and mound it with a spade, and in a short space a shoot comes up, which is soon fit for removal POETRY & MUSIC. SABBATH DAYS. Types of eternal rest-fair buds of bliss, In heavenly flowers unfolding week by week; We climb to future ages-lamps that light To raise our thoughts, and, purify our powers; Periods appointed to renew our trust A gleam of glory after six days' showers! A milky way mark'd out through skies else drear, A clue, which he who follows knows no fear, Though briars and thorns around his pathway twine. |